'I cannot answer you; you are wiser than I am, but I do not think you can see my heart.' 'I see,' he said, with a glance at my mother's white face, 'things which you do not seem to comprehend.' 'The time may come,' she retorted, 'when you will be more just towards me, and I must wait until then.' 'Well, well,' he said, with a sigh; 'you say it is bitter to be dependent upon those who hate you. Leave me out of the question. My sister loves you; Chris loves you. Can you not be content with this, and let me go my way?' 'No; for I have been dependent upon you, not upon them.' 'Have I ever said a word which led you to believe I begrudged you shelter here?' 'Never; but we do not judge always by words.' She seemed to have caught uncle Bryan's talent for short crisp sentences, in which there was much truth. 'Go on with your explanation,' he said. She turned to my mother. 'You saw me yesterday in a cab with a gentleman. His name is Mr. Glover, and he is a friend of Mr. Rackstraw. He offered to see me home, and wanted to come to the door with me, but I thought uncle Bryan would not approve of it.' 'I should not have approved of it,' said uncle Bryan, 'and I do not approve of any person seeing you home in a clandestine way.' 'And, my dear child,' added my mother, 'he is a stranger to us, and must be almost a stranger to you.' 'He is a gentleman,' said Jessie. 'A gentleman!' repeated uncle Bryan scornfully. 'That is nothing against him. I like gentlemen. Mr. Rackstraw tells me that Mr. Glover can help me to get an engagement on the stage, and I must consider that. He treats me with the greatest respect.' 'Who pays this Mr. Rackstraw,' asked uncle Bryan, 'for the lessons he gives you? His business is not entirely philanthropic, I presume, and he does not teach young ladies for nothing.' 'Of course I have no money to pay him; I am to pay him by and by, out of any money I may earn.' 'You are determined, then, to become an actress?' 'I am determined to get my own living, and I believe I shall do well on the stage. I cannot continue to live in a state of dependence. If I had a mother or a father, or if I were happy here, it would be different.' 'I suppose you can be made happy,' said uncle Bryan, 'by being indulged in all your whims and caprices, and by being allowed to act and think exactly as you please, without restraint.' 'No,' replied Jessie tearfully, 'I only want kindness; I cannot live without it.' She turned to leave the room, with signs of agitation on her face, when uncle Bryan desired her to stay. 'There is something more,' he said. 'In the event of this gentleman--Mr. Glover--seeing you home again, he must not do so clandestinely. I owe a duty to you which I must perform, however distasteful it may be to you.' 'It is not distasteful to me,' she replied. 'Mr. Glover would have seen me to the door yesterday but for my refusal to allow him. I am truly anxious to do what is right.'